Smiling brightly.
"─Sister!"
She stepped between the two.
The three laughed and talked happily.
It was a perfectly beautiful and peaceful scene, as if depicting a moment in paradise.
But for some reason... I felt that scene was strange.
What is this feeling? Why are my fingertips trembling so much?
That was when.
Crackling-
The sky, once so blue, turned black, and the world began to collapse.
As if falling from paradise into the abyss, everything crumbled.
The blue sky, the lilac flower field, and the place where they stood.
Finally, just before everything collapsed.
"……!!"
The woman looked at me.
I couldn't see her face, but I knew it instinctively.
She was clearly looking at me.
Soon, the woman moved her lips.
It was…….
[─Be careful of ].
She was warning me about something.
And finally, the world completely collapsed.
Flash!
I opened my eyes.
"Cough!"
I breathed out roughly, gasping for air.
I curled up in pain, my lungs being squeezed, and took slow, deep breaths.
"Haa, haa, haa..."
It got a little better after that.
"Hoo..."
I turned over, lay down, and looked up at the ceiling.
As the east seemed to be brightening, darkness was receding, and faint light was seeping into the room.
What on earth…….
"......What happened?"
I had experienced so much that my thoughts wouldn't flow properly.
But I seemed to know one thing.
'I think I just saw something amazing...'
The scene of the man and woman kissing came to mind, and my face began to heat up again.
L, let's get up... !
I tried to lift my waterlogged body.
Firmly.
"Huh?"
My hand was caught on something and wouldn't move.
When I confirmed that, I froze in panic for a moment.
...Hand?
It was a hand that was holding me tightly.
I slowly raised my head along that hand.
Then, I saw the Crown Prince, his eyes tightly closed, sound asleep.
Ah, that's right. I told him to hold my hand to save him.
'I don't know if I saved him right.'
It was so tight that my blood wasn't flowing, and it was numb.
I was struggling to get my hand out somehow.
"You could just ask me to let go."
Startled by the voice that suddenly came from above my head, I raised my head.
The Crown Prince, who had woken up sometime, was looking at me in a relaxed pose, resting his chin on his hand.
When our eyes met, he nonchalantly showed his palm and greeted me.
"Hello, Lady."
"Your Highness the Crown Prince...?"
"Didn't we agree to call each other by our names?"
"Are you okay?"
I asked cautiously, seeing him so calm and collected, as if last night was all a dream.
Then, the Crown Prince quietly smiled and replied.
"I'm fine. You made me fine."
"Ah......"
"Honestly, I was surprised."
The Crown Prince, who had let go of my hand, slowly got up.
After smoothing out the wrinkled hem of his clothes with a light gesture, he held out his hand to me.
"Here."
I stared blankly at his outstretched hand.
'His hands are pretty...'
Thinking something that didn't fit the situation, I shook my head.
"I'm okay, I can get up by myself."
"I think I'll be very embarrassed if you refuse. Are you going to embarrass me, Lady?"
The Crown Prince said with a wistful smile.
I couldn't refuse after seeing his face, so I reluctantly took his hand.
"Thank you..."
"What, that's what I should be saying."
The Crown Prince pulled me up briskly.
But it didn't end there, he pulled me closer in a flash.
"Ah?"
I looked up at him with wide eyes, having suddenly gotten close to him.
Crown Prince Vedel Denav was 14 years old, the same age as Estio Rodbel.
Compared to Estio, who was more developed than his peers, the Crown Prince still had the strong feeling of an unripe boy.
But his eyes.
His blue-grey eyes were so deep that it was difficult to guess his age.
Some people say that they can read thoughts and understand nature by looking at the eyes, but it seemed that it would not work for the Crown Prince at all.
But…….
'Why does it feel so familiar?'
His platinum blonde hair, which seemed to have been extracted and melted from the most brilliant part of the sun, his snow-white skin, and his dreamy blue-grey eyes, were all things I was seeing for the first time.
The more I looked at the Crown Prince, the more unfamiliar he seemed.
It wasn't just because I was watching him from afar.
'Is it because his appearance resembles the evil god I saw earlier...?'
No, it's different.
A little more fundamental, something deeper is connecting us...
"Have we ever met before?"
I was startled to ask that question without even realizing it.
I knew better than anyone that he and I had first met at this qualification exam...!
When I came to my senses, I hurriedly tried to apologize.
"Well..."
The Crown Prince's answer was somehow strange.
He gave a meaningful smile.
"What do you think?"
It was normal to deny it right away, but the Crown Prince asked me instead.
The nuance felt as if he wanted me to recognize something.
But what?
Neither in the previous life nor in this life had there been any special connection between him and me.
I had always just watched the Crown Prince's back as he spent time with Miracle from afar, and he didn't even know I existed.
This qualification exam in this life was the first time that he and I had come into contact like this.
But…….
'I don't think that's what he's talking about.'
What does the Crown Prince want me to recognize?
I searched through my head to see if he and I had ever met separately.
"......I don't know."
There was no such thing.
I wondered if he was just joking.
'I don't think so.'
Unlike his smiling lips, his cloud-colored eyes felt somehow anxious.
"I guess so."
He laughed dejectedly and let go of my hand, which he had been holding tightly.
'Ah.'
At that moment, my heart thumped as if I had dropped something.
I stared blankly at my dropped hand, then slowly raised my head.
The Crown Prince had his back to me.
It felt like he was going to disappear from me forever.
Even if he actually moved away from me, it wouldn't be a problem, but I felt uneasy for no reason.
Just as I was about to reach out to him without realizing it.
"You may not know me well, Lady."
The Crown Prince turned to me.
The look in his eyes, which had seemed somewhat gloomy, suddenly sparkled.
Arose.
"I knew you, Lady. To be exact, I've been waiting for you. From much earlier, from a very long time ago."
"......Yes?"
The light of the brightening east seeped into the Crown Prince's eyes, as if the sun was rising in his eyes as well.
He took a step closer.
"Lucia Rodbel."
He smiled prettily and said casually.
"Contractor of the Evil God."
"……!!"
My eyes widened at the unbelievable words that came out of his mouth.
"How did you...?"
I asked reflexively, then belatedly covered my mouth.
But it was a meaningless act.
The Crown Prince's expression was already firm.
On the contrary, my eyes were trembling.
How on earth?
'How did he know?'
The words that came out of nowhere shook me to the core.
"Well, I've been watching you all the time."
He smiled softly.
Watching?
What?
"Actually, I wasn't sure either. I wasn't sure if Lucia Rodbel was the Lucia Rodbel I knew, or if she had changed while I wasn't looking. So, I watched you for a bit."
"……."
"But the more I watched, the more I knew. You are the 'that' Lucia Rodbel that I know."
What on earth…….
'What is he talking about?'
The Crown Prince was talking as if he had known me for a long time.
"I wonder if you're curious about how I know you're a contractor of the Evil God."
"......What are you?"
One thing was certain.
This man is not an ordinary human being.
No, I even doubt if he is the Crown Prince.
Just as I was about to take a step back at the sudden sense of crisis.
"Don't go away."
He came even closer.
"Don't run away from me, Lucia Rodbel."
"……."
For some reason, he clung to me.
"You asked me what I am, right?"
"……Are you going to tell me?"
"If you're curious."
He answered readily and then.
"……!!"
"I'll tell you everything."
He began to unbutton his shirt one by one.
"W, what are you doing?"
Why are you taking off your clothes?!
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